Rhapsody

Is Kiev Ballet the same as Ukraine National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kiev? We recently saw Victor Ishchuk from UNOBT and were dazzled. He performed Don Q Pas de Deux (with PNB's Kaori Nakamura substituting for an ill or injured Natalia Domracheva) during a Stars performance put on by Vera Altunina's International Ballet Theatre in Kirkland, WA. His leaps are phenomenal and at one point he seemed to zoom out over the audience before turning back and landing on the stage (it was a small venue). If this is the same company, I'd love to see more of them.

Dd trained at a large well-known school associated with a professional company for several years. During that time the school bent over backwards to attract, train and retain minority students. From year 1 her class was pretty racially diverse, reflecting the community: white, asian, black, hispanic and other minorities. The longer she remained in the school, the more students dropped out, usually because, pick one: it was getting harder or because they were no longer interested, wanted to do another type of dance, didn't have the ballet body: short legs, long torso, did not have the feet for pointe, just didn't like it and had been doing it for their moms to begin with. Dd is the only student from her class still studying ballet. She is minority, but not AA, so it's not so obvious, but she is a minority nonetheless. There are NO ballet dancers or students at any of the schools she has attended of her ethnicity. She has NO professional role models of her ethnicity to look up to, male or female. But she does have professional dancers she looks up to. They may not look like her, but she sees in them something share: the artist within. She loved being a student at the company school but ultimately left because she felt she needed to get the level of training provided to ballet students in Europe and Russia if she was to become a ballet dancer: the school's program is typical of that provided in the US, hours of training at the advanced level are 12-14 hours per week. But in Russia, for instance, (or at CPYB, in PA), students her age train many more hours per week and therefore are stronger technically. The quote about the quality of training in the US should not be dismissed lightly. Without high quality training, you will not be a competitive dancer. If the dancer is not competitive, they won't pass the audition.

Well that explains why they went back at it! He was just a cousin. (Sorry, couldn't resist. )

Memo, Did the Honorary Grand Prix winner, Miles Pertl, perform at the Gala? He's a tall, thin, very talented 16 year old. We are delighted he did so well at the competition his first time out.

We saw Program 7 and found Elemental Brubeck and Concordia strong, well-danced but after a while we noted fidgetting by the SF audience (this was a Saturday matinee.) Maybe went on too long? We don't often get to the city by the bay so we were entranced by all the new faces and talent. I personally loved the Brubeck piece the best of the program because of well, the music, and the colors and the pairings. Concordia I think I need to see again as I felt mixed about it. Then on came Symphony in C and the audience seemed to sit up. We had a chance to see Tina LeBlanc, who is a favorite and danced beautifully. She is tiny but really dances big and this was a good thing for my petite dancer to see and grasp. At the start of the program they announced a change and Sarah van Patten was replaced with Yuan Yuan Tan. We were looking forward to Ms. van Patten but wow, we got very lucky to see Yuan Yuan Tan do the 'Farrell' segment. She was/is simply gorgeous and demonstrated the power of holding those balances (was so glad my young dancer got to see these done so well and why there is such an impact in holding that balance and really using all of the music.) Frances Chung seemed like she was shot out of a cannon,full of energy and light. What happiness she projects. I would LOVE to see more of her. She was in Brubeck piece which had to have taken up a lot of energy but there she was doing the most athletic segment in Symphony in C. I'll have what she's having! All in all we loved our visit to SF and really enjoyed the SFB. Since someone commented on the 'slapdash' air, I will comment that I thought PNB's Symphony in C of seasons past was sharper and I think it's because of the corps. I remember the audience in Seattle just being wowed. PNB's was clean, sharp and infused with energy in the corps, even when they are holding those positions. SFB's lacked that edge. I think the Principals we saw with SFB's C were very tight. Sounds like we got lucky. Unlike a poster above, all the ballerinas at the matinee did the final turns successfully, but I really couldn't take my eyes off Ms. Tan. Dd thought she had an astere look about her but was impressed by her untouchable technique. We both agree she looks like she's not an earthly being. SFB has so many great dancers in the company, we have to visit more often.

I met Kyra when she was a student at Mr. Howard's. She was only 13, yet we all could see she had everything going for her, unbelievable beauty, the Balanchine body, the technique AND was a lovely person, not a sign of ego. Anyone know what her plans for the future are? Will she stay in NY or come back to the West Coast to teach?

Feet: Patricia Barker; Christophe Maravel Smile: Maria Chapman - her smile brightens up the stage Jumps:Carrie Imler Legs: Louise Nadeau All the above: Stanko Milov

And don't forget the scent of those eucalyptus trees. To this day, that scent brings back childhood memories. I always love Sundays at Sigmund Stern Grove and take my child there whenever we visit during the summers. Missed this year, but can't wait to check out the renovations next year.

I went to the October 1 matinee. After reading about the ballets and seeing a few photos, I expected to enjoy In the Night and dislike Artifacts II. Instead I ended up also liking Artifacts II the best. It was very well done, the leads were Jodie Thomas with Jonathan Porretta and Lesley Rausch with Casey Herd. These pairings worked well. In fact one of the things I liked about the over all performance was the choice of pairings. They seemed so well matched. Lesley Rausch has an endless extension, good feet, placement and also quite pretty. She and Casey looked and worked well together. Jodie is a hands-down favorite. She snapped out a few penchees and appeared to be taking chances with her balances. Maybe JOnathan brought that out? They looked great together as well. The choreography stole the show though. And the end wrapped it up so well. Bravo! OK so I didn't mention In the Night Yet. I love Chopin's Nocturnes so I really looked forward to this piece. It was well danced by Carla Korbes and Olivier Wevers (couple 1), Ariana Lallone and Stanko Milov ( ) (couple 2) and Kaori Nakamur and Casey Herd (couple 3). Although well danced through out, I found myself bored by the choreography. Some of it seemed like I could tell what they were going to do next even though I've never seen this before. I liked to be surprised so I was disappointed. The sets and costumes (and dancing) were lovely. And the pianist, Dianne Chilgren was MARVELOUS, all the feelings just welled up when she played. Duo Concertant was well performed by all same cast as above Noelani and Olivier. Good match again! Symphony in 3 movements: I love the opening so dramatic: almost like the corps in Swan Lake, except they're in plain leos and high ponytails. Today the corps started off well but the finish wasn't together so the impact was lost. After the curtain came down on each segment, the leads came for a second and stood in front of the curtains. I really like this touch. Thanks, Peter. I am looking forward to the rest of this season. I can hardly wait for Concerto Barocco! Wahoo. (I'll have to resist getting up and dancing the 3rd movement in the aisle.) Not only is this one of my favorite Balanchines, it has always been my favorite Bach piece. It can lift me out of a grey Seattle mood, every time. THANK YOU, PETER BOAL!